Universal Great Britain - Speculation & Rumors

[tommyhawkins]

There are two parcels either side of Manor Road both ~240acres each which totals 480acres. But having looked at both sites, it's my determination that they will build the park on the Southern site. In the thread that was posted I have shown a potential build out for the northern site.

To answer the question about what's going on the area, it is mixed use land semi industrial which is very common especially in the New Town I love, which is incredibly favourable for building theme parks, the alternative being surrounded by 1000s of houses or untouchable green field site. What we will see it's lots of buffers around the site to enclose the site especially on the western flank where the Trainline and industrial park is. If you wanna go back to my original EU map you can see how Uni handled it there by buying more land than you would think they needed for environmental and anti-competition buffers

Certainly long term we could be in for something very special.

This is a good thread for possible ideas:

https://x.com/tommyhawkins/status/1738361940999565680?s=46&t=zvgQlo_y_0vrNHJeBGnRTA

 

[yepthatguy]

There are two parcels either side of Manor Road both ~240acres each which totals 480acres. But having looked at both sites, it's my determination that they will build the park on the Southern site. In the thread that was posted I have shown a potential build out for the northern site.

To answer the question about what's going on the area, it is mixed use land semi industrial which is very common especially in the New Town I love, which is incredibly favourable for building theme parks, the alternative being surrounded by 1000s of houses or untouchable green field site. What we will see it's lots of buffers around the site to enclose the site especially on the western flank where the Trainline and industrial park is. If you wanna go back to my original EU map you can see how Uni handled it there by buying more land than you would think they needed for environmental and anti-competition buffers

A couple of things I’m curious about.

I wonder how the Wixams station will allow passengers straight into the park or through a route, as they haven’t bought land close enough.

Also, what would happen to manor road? I suspect the end they haven’t purchased land on will become a closed road with the entrance near the Japanese car breakers, and at the other end close it at Kempston Hardwick station.

A footbridge across it? Or a tunnel?

 

[tommyhawkins]

A couple of things I’m curious about.

I wonder how the Wixams station will allow passengers straight into the park or through a route, as they haven’t bought land close enough.

Also, what would happen to manor road? I suspect the end they haven’t purchased land on will become a closed road with the entrance near the Japanese car breakers, and at the other end close it at Kempston Hardwick station.

A footbridge across it? Or a tunnel?

I did answer this a while back. But there is no footbridge over the tracks on Wixams plan. Which means a two mile walk to the park entrance. Even with a footbridge that's still a 1 mile walk, along a B road (very small road with minimal foot path) so for me the obvious answer is shuttle buses back and forth between Wixams. Its actually half the mileage of South and North Campus at Epic so will be very quick and wouldn't need as many buses

 

[bedfordmassive]

I did answer this a while back. But there is no footbridge over the tracks on Wixams plan. Which means a two mile walk to the park entrance. Even with a footbridge that's still a 1 mile walk, along a B road (very small road with minimal foot path) so for me the obvious answer is shuttle buses back and forth between Wixams. Its actually half the mileage of South and North Campus at Epic so will be very quick and wouldn't need as many buses

I can imagine a bit of NIMBYism if those shuttle buses go South along meadow road towards Manor Road- this is the road they would go down:

Most of the roads round Wixams are pretty narrow (as this one is) and usually crammed with parked cars. Going down Meadow Road out toward Manor Road will go through this type of street for a distance.
There's no planned road out to the north that would take the buses out through the industrial areas that I can see on development plans, but you could imagine one joining the roundabout in front of the station with Fisherwood Road (marked in white below - the point on the roundabout to the left I think is where the station forecourt would come out onto the road - this is the point from which the above image looks down Meadow Road). That would take the shuttles straight through the industrial park and round the dual carriageways to the proposed park.


There's probably something planned anyway to support the train station - I'll dig a bit more.

 

[tommyhawkins]

I can imagine a bit of NIMBYism if those shuttle buses go South along meadow road towards Manor Road- this is the road they would go down:
View attachment 20374
Most of the roads round Wixams are pretty narrow (as this one is) and usually crammed with parked cars. Going down Meadow Road out toward Manor Road will go through this type of street for a distance.
There's no planned road out to the north that would take the buses out through the industrial areas that I can see on development plans, but you could imagine one joining the roundabout in front of the station with Fisherwood Road (marked in white below - the point on the roundabout to the left I think is where the station forecourt would come out onto the road - this is the point from which the above image looks down Meadow Road). That would take the shuttles straight through the industrial park and round the dual carriageways to the proposed park.
View attachment 20375

There's probably something planned anyway to support the train station - I'll dig a bit more.

Nothing planned so far. I pulled the current plans when I made my layout. Would be something they've worked on or working on that goes into the NSIP

 

[yepthatguy]

I can imagine a bit of NIMBYism if those shuttle buses go South along meadow road towards Manor Road- this is the road they would go down:
View attachment 20374
Most of the roads round Wixams are pretty narrow (as this one is) and usually crammed with parked cars. Going down Meadow Road out toward Manor Road will go through this type of street for a distance.
There's no planned road out to the north that would take the buses out through the industrial areas that I can see on development plans, but you could imagine one joining the roundabout in front of the station with Fisherwood Road (marked in white below - the point on the roundabout to the left I think is where the station forecourt would come out onto the road - this is the point from which the above image looks down Meadow Road). That would take the shuttles straight through the industrial park and round the dual carriageways to the proposed park.
View attachment 20375

There's probably something planned anyway to support the train station - I'll dig a bit more.

Good shout on the routes, and good spot with that potential northward road if they join it, that’d be a fast way out of Wixams compared to the windy south route which is very residential and more houses being added.

As the road you mentioned gets closer to Wixams retirement village you can see a road at the roundabout that joins the dual carriage way. That’s a bus lane you can’t drive down in your car, so almost perfect to feed traffic onto the actual carriageway efficiently.

It seems like a huge detour, but as has been mentioned detours are quite common like this.

One other thing of note whilst we are taking transport, you are probably aware already but the A421 dual carriage way from the UGB site has a parallel road you can get in at the double roundabouts close to Kempston Hardwick station. This was the “old” road before the carriageway bypass was built, but is still open and in use. When there is an accident or bad traffic on the actual A421 lots of people use this alternate road. It’s marked in black on the universal land photo they released, but joins the M1 junction in the same place. Sorry if I’m saying stuff people know.

Has anyone got any thoughts on where the entrance to the park itself might be? I guess that’s relevant in all this.

 

[bedfordmassive]

Not been down that road in a while. Looks like they've finally torn down the abandoned house down there which is such a weird thing to see in England.

:

 

[tommyhawkins]

Good shout on the routes, and good spot with that potential northward road if they join it, that’d be a fast way out of Wixams compared to the windy south route which is very residential and more houses being added.

As the road you mentioned gets closer to Wixams retirement village you can see a road at the roundabout that joins the dual carriage way. That’s a bus lane you can’t drive down in your car, so almost perfect to feed traffic onto the actual carriageway efficiently.

It seems like a huge detour, but as has been mentioned detours are quite common like this.

One other thing of note whilst we are taking transport, you

Has anyone got any thoughts on where the entrance to the park itself might be? I guess that’s relevant in all this.

Yes

 

[yepthatguy]

Yes

That’s really cool work. Thanks for sharing the link.

How close to actual scale is the Beijing overlay? Did you shrink it by much?

 

[tommyhawkins]

That’s really cool work. Thanks for sharing the link.

How close to actual scale is the Beijing overlay? Did you shrink it by much?

The park is to scale (see previous in thread ) it was just rearranged a little. Deleted a few parts. We don't know what final acreage will be but this is 77

Edit updated version here:

 

[yepthatguy]

The park is to scale (see previous in thread ) it was just rearranged a little. Deleted a few parts. We don't know what final acreage will be but this is 77

Edit updated version here:

That’s insane. City walk looks tiny on that land, but in Orlando it’s always felt quite big to me.

You’ve nailed it though, that’s to scale!

Kind of brings home just how much space they’ve bought…

 

[bedfordmassive]

Now that the reporting seems to have died down, what chance do the cognoscenti and insiders on this forum think this park has of happening?

 

[Alicia]

Now that the reporting seems to have died down, what chance do the cognoscenti and insiders on this forum think this park has of happening?

90%

 

[tommyhawkins]

Now that the reporting seems to have died down, what chance do the cognoscenti and insiders on this forum think this park has of happening?

They're choosing their Comms very carefully, they want a softly softly approach to woo the locals. But they're a lot further ahead than their press releases made out. Barring a significant problem with the site itself,(I have already ruled out any SSSI stuff) I find it hard to believe this park won't get built. Anyone citing the election or who is governing is lying. It will make no difference

 

[bedfordmassive]

Thanks @Alicia and @tommyhawkins.

I've not yet met anyone local who is anything other than very positive about it, so their comms approach (plus the general feeling that Bedford is falling behind Cambridge and MK) definitely seems to be working!

 

[tommyhawkins]

Thanks @Alicia and @tommyhawkins.

I've not yet met anyone local who is anything other than very positive about it, so their comms approach (plus the general feeling that Bedford is falling behind Cambridge and MK) definitely seems to be working!

The biggest concern is manor road houses. Especially the new houses. But if someone was offering me £1.5M to buy my £700K home I'm sure I'd happily find somewhere quieter to move to

 

[Nico]

Some cool footage of the purchased land:

 

[GAcoaster]

Interesting bit on Screamscape today-- possibly a "Universal Horror Unleashed" coming to London as well:

Universal Great Britain

www.screamscape.com

While Universal quietly filed a trademark for their traditional “Halloween Horror Nights” brand in the UK way back in November 2022, this was followed by the unnoticed at the time filing for the “Universal Horror Unleashed” name in Jan. 2023. Universal had been filing for various trademarks in the UK for years, so this really didn’t seem like anything special until now. However, it is also worth noting that Universal filed for trademarks for a number of older film property names in December 2023 that likely don’t have anything to do with the new park, such as “American Pie”, “Battlestar Galactica”, “Dazed and Confused”, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, “Sixteen Candles”, “Breakfast Club” and “The Big Lebowski”, but tucked away in that list of new filings were also some popular Universal HHN classic IPs, “The Purge” and “Chucky”.

So how could this all soon descend upon London? While the city has often proven to be resistant to large-scale attraction and amusement projects, it has also been known to be a favorable environment for smaller stand-alone attractions such as the London Dungeon, the London Eye, Sea Life Aquarium, Madame Tussauds, Shrek’s Adventure, London Bridge/London Tombs, etc…

In this case, rumor has it that London is being considered as a potential second site for a second “Universal Horror Unleashed” stand-alone attraction that would open long before the proposed theme park in Bedford. The thought is that a “Universal Horror Unleashed” attraction in London would serve not only as a good stand-alone attraction, but it would also be a good way to introduce the brand’s arrival in the UK. The site would also serve as a sort of test-ground for the kind of haunts and scares that Universal could eventually bring to the theme park resort in Bedford. It also goes without saying that a London location would also serve as a great “preview center” for the Bedford theme park park resort, once they decide to green-light the project since it is just a quick train-ride away from the city.

With construction on the Las Vegas attraction already under way, a London project could be ready to move forward shortly after Vegas is ready to open.

 

[xtpower]

They're choosing their Comms very carefully, they want a softly softly approach to woo the locals. But they're a lot further ahead than their press releases made out. Barring a significant problem with the site itself,(I have already ruled out any SSSI stuff) I find it hard to believe this park won't get built. Anyone citing the election or who is governing is lying. It will make no difference

Let's be honest no matter who wins the election, they'll want Universal to build their park because it would be a huge tourist boon and help rejuvenate a rather bland area that could use the boost. The sheer amount of benefits it would cause are way too much for any government to deny.

 

[LukiLu]

Interesting bit on Screamscape today-- possibly a "Universal Horror Unleashed" coming to London as well:

Universal Great Britain

www.screamscape.com

Thanks to @Alicia, that probably doesn't come as a huge surprise. The timeframe given by Screamscape is interesting, though. So probably opening around 2026-2027-ish? Location will be interesting to see, as I think this could profit from a relatively central location within London.